Remember When It Rained
by snakesandscarlettforever
Summary: A short, heart-wrenching story about Thomas Saburo Arashikage....


WARNING!

This story is sad...very sad.

Taken from a scene in Byung-Hun Lee's film "Once in a Summer".

If you want to cry, go HERE and listen to Remember When It Rained while reading.

~Remember When It Rained~

Rain poured down through the slate gray sky...thunder rolled in the distance.

The shores of a deserted beach, covered in rocks and sand.

Ocean waves beating against the cold, lifeless boulders.

Tears of heaven falling....it was all too real. Thomas Saburo Arashikage walked wearily across the rocky beach, head bowed and rain running down his pale face. Droplets fell from his drenched hair, causing him to blink. He didn't seem to care about the sheeting rain, pounding waves or thunder...all he could hear was the dying throb of his breaking heart. He stared at the wet, rock covered ground as he walked slowly, stumbling across pools of gathered water. His breath was seen as he let out a choked sigh, looking up and out at the ocean....she was gone. Junko Akita was gone. He felt so alone....so cold. She was dead. Tears slipped down his wet face as he slowly sat on a large rock, gazing out into the disturbed ocean. He bowed his head, resting it in his shaking hands. It was his fault...he had caused her death. Scenes flashed before his eyes like wild fire, causing him to sob uncontrollably. He saw her smile, her long black hair over one shoulder....he could feel the warmness of her body when he hugged her...the coldness of her hand when he left her. He saw the tears that slipped down her pale face when he stood in front of her, not Thomas Arashikage, but Storm Shadow. He remembered the aching of his heart when they had brought her in as a captive, and the shocked, pleading look on her face when she had looked at him...when time had stood still. The times they had shared together ran before his eyes, causing his heart to throb and jerk. He had loved her....he had loved her dearly. Flashes of the past raced in front of him. His heart ached....the crack of a firing pistol...mud slipping under his feet when he turned. All time and space standing still....seeing her body go limp and fall to the muddy earth. The scream that ripped from his throat...the rain pouring hard. Falling to his knees beside her....cradling her limp, cold body. Tears falling from his eyes and onto her pale face....her eyes staring up at him. The stream of scarlet blood that ran from her parted lips...the last words she uttered. Her faltering grasp in his hand...feeling her life slip away. He had held her...through tears he had told her that she was going to be alright. Her body convulsing...her words faint. So clearly they rang in his ears, so hotly they burned into his bleeding heart.

"Thomas....Thomas come back....do not stay in the darkness...."

Her grasp fading...the light in her eyes slipping away....

"...remember when it rained, Thomas....remember me...."

The tears that ran down his face, blurring his vision....feeling the blood on his hands....

"Junko, you will be alright....stay with me....you will be alright...."

Her half sob and half smile filled his ears as she grasped his hand tightly, with what fleeing strength she had....

"...I will always be with—with you....Thomas....know that...remember...remember the times we have shared...the things we have done....remember when it rained...."

Her body shivering in the rain...one last time....gripping her close, holding her to his chest...sobbing and rocking her dying body. One last shiver, one last movement....her hand slipping around his back...holding on one last moment...and then slipping away. Her life going....going...his head against hers....whispering to her.

"Ai shi teru Junko Akita....Ai shi teru...Ai shi teru...."

Her choked sobs fading....going....her last words...quiet...hardly heard....

"...Ai—Ai shi teru Tomasu...shi teru...."

He held her tight to his body, he cradled her head in his arms....he looked into her pale face as her life slipped away...he brushed the wet strands of jet black hair from her eyes...he pressed his lips against hers....one last time....just one last time....and she was gone....

Thomas looked into the ocean, tears running down his face. Junko....Junko Akita.....was gone. His shoulders shook and his breathing was fast....his heart throbbing against his chest....pounding rain...rolling thunder....sobs wracking his voice. He felt so weak...so helpless. He looked down the stretch of stormy shore, and his heart throbbed even faster. There she was....there she stood in the shallow waves, wet hair plastered against her face, soaked, but a smile gracing her features. The sheeting rain fell around her, her breath seen in the cold air. She extended her hand towards him, and he stood, tears still flowing down his face. She was so beautiful standing there, knee deep in the rolling waves. He walked towards her, but she held up her hand, that he should stay where he was. She smiled at him, walking closer. They were not but a few feet away. He wanted to take her hand, but could not take his eyes from her smiling face. She spoke, her voice quiet.

"Why are you crying, Thomas? Smile...you look good when you smile."

Thomas let out a shaking breath, tears running down his face. He did smile, he smiled for her, but in his heart he was aching....he missed her. She looked at him, and extended her hand to run her fingers through his wet black hair. He closed his eyes at her touch, taking in her soft words.

"When life is harsh, I think of you. Let us not cry....let us remember the good times we shared...the things we did together. I will always be with you, Thomas....I will always be in your heart. Ai shi teru, Thomas....I always will."

Thomas looked into her deep, smiling brown eyes, raising his hand to touch her arm, but his touch met nothing but air.

"Ai shi teru, Junko...."

New tears ran down his face, and his shoulder trembled with silent sobs when she turned, walking back down the shore, her wet black hair blowing in the wind, and the mist swirling around her wet body. She stepped into the waves, and then turned back, smiling at him.

"Smile, Tomasu...smile....remember when it rained."

Thomas smiled slightly, pain filling his heart.

"I will remember when it rained, Junko Akita...I will remember....you will always be in my heart..."

_Remember when it rained....when life is harsh, I think of you. Do not cry, think of the good times we shared...the things we did. Why are you crying? Smile, Thomas....you look good when you smile. I will love you forever....you are always in my heart. Ai shi teru._


End file.
